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Will kesariya kamal bloom in Chhindwara?: The Pioneer
Maharashtra, Mar 22: In the minds of its critics, the BJP is an urban, at best semi-urban, upper-caste party. This is a stereotype that seemed remarkably unconnected with reality as the Bharat Uday Yatra crossed into Madhya Pradesh from Maharashtra.
Maharashtra, Mar 22: In the minds of its critics, the BJP is an urban, at best semi-urban, upper-caste party. This is a stereotype that seemed remarkably unconnected with reality as the Bharat Uday Yatra crossed into Madhya Pradesh from Maharashtra.
The entry point was a small village in a forested part of the Chhindwara parliamentary constituency, a constituency that has been a Congress bastion since 1977. Since 1980, barring one by-election, it has returned Congress general secretary Kamal Nath to the Lok Sabha with monotonous regularity.
Since 1991 when the BJP first mounted a challenge, I have often heard it said that it will be different this time. It never has. Regardless of how the segments of Chhindwara vote in the Assembly polls, Kamal Nath has prevailed in the Lok Sabha polls.
I don't know whether the new century will finally break with tradition but this time the BJP challenge is both real and formidable. Welcoming the yatra into this backward corner of Madhya Pradesh were the two individuals who are trying to rewrite electoral history: Chief Minister Uma Bharati and her protégé Prahlad Patel, who is the local BJP candidate. Both ooze charm and charisma.
Sitting with Mr Patel and Mr Advani on the front seat as we drove through the sea of potholes that Digvijay Singh bequeathed to the state after 10 years of NGO-friendly rule, Ms Bharati could naturally connect. In these remote parts of Madhya Pradesh, it is she, not the Deputy Prime Minister, who is the star. But make no mistake, Mr Patel is as much a favourite of Chhind-wara's noisy youth brigade. This was the only place where slogans cheering Mr Advani were interspersed with cries upholding Mr Patel.
More to the point, the enthusiasm seems genuine. It is always hazardous to make electoral predictions but I can assure you that this time Mr Kamal Nath will have to fight every inch of the way to return to the Lok Sabha. Chhindwara promises a rivetting contest.
I don't know whether the new century will finally break with tradition but this time the BJP challenge is both real and formidable. Welcoming the yatra into this backward corner of Madhya Pradesh were the two individuals who are trying to rewrite electoral history: Chief Minister Uma Bharati and her protégé Prahlad Patel, who is the local BJP candidate. Both ooze charm and charisma.
Sitting with Mr Patel and Mr Advani on the front seat as we drove through the sea of potholes that Digvijay Singh bequeathed to the state after 10 years of NGO-friendly rule, Ms Bharati could naturally connect. In these remote parts of Madhya Pradesh, it is she, not the Deputy Prime Minister, who is the star. But make no mistake, Mr Patel is as much a favourite of Chhind-wara's noisy youth brigade. This was the only place where slogans cheering Mr Advani were interspersed with cries upholding Mr Patel.
More to the point, the enthusiasm seems genuine. It is always hazardous to make electoral predictions but I can assure you that this time Mr Kamal Nath will have to fight every inch of the way to return to the Lok Sabha. Chhindwara promises a rivetting contest.